According to Mr. Sergey Povazhnyuk, Deputy Director at Ukrpromvneshekspertiza in Ukraine, Poland currently consumes 5 times more berries than Ukraine. Mr. Povazhnyuk reported that per-capita consumption of strawberries reaches 5 kg in Poland against no higher than 1.6 kg in Ukraine.
However, the Ukrainian berry sector has potential. According to Povazhnyuk, under the conditions of diversified exports, additional demand for berries may reach 65,800 tons in Ukraine, almost a half of Ukrainian total soft fruit production in 2015.
Mr. Povazhnyuk sees the highest potential in the production of strawberries, which are the leader in consumption in Ukraine, followed by raspberries, currants and gooseberries.
Moreover, Ukraine has been increasing berry production over the past 5 years, mainly thanks to growth in commercial sector. At the same time, the share of uncommercial production has gone down from 94% to 92% in the berry production structure.
